A Novel 3D Metal Organic Framework Based on an Azolate Ligand

Metal organic frameworks（MOFs） have attracted much attention over the world during the last several decades[1-3].Constructed from metal ions and organic building units,MOFs have great properties in gas adsorption[4],catalysis[5],luminescence[6] and magnetism[7].By varying the metal salts and organic building units,numerous MOF structures with designed functionalities and expected properties can be obtained.Among them,zeolitic imidazolate frameworks（ZIFs） have been investigated greatly due to their high thermal and chemical stabilities and tunable porosities[8].ZIFs can be obtained with imidazolate compounds as organic building units,such as imidazole,benzimidazole and 2-methylimidazole[9].Zeolite structures are composed of tetrahedral Si（Al）O4 units,with Si-O-Si angle ca.145°.ZIFs possess imidazole,with M-IM-M（M-metal,IM=imidazole） angle close to 145°,resembling zeolite（Scheme 1）[10].